There is a reason that law enforcement warns the public about scams. They're often very effective at getting money from unsuspecting victims. Two Iowa restaurants had to learn that fact the hard way as they fell victim to an IRS scam that cost them an unknown amount of money.

WHO reports that the phone scammer claimed that they were from the IRS. They contacted two Big Acai restaurants on Saturday and told workers there that the restaurant needed to pay off an IRS debt immediately. The fake IRS agents told the teenage workers at the restaurants that they need to empty the cash register and safe, convert the money into prepaid cards, and then wire the money through the phone by sharing the card numbers. WHO reports that they wouldn't let the employees hang up, stating that an employee at the Pella restaurant was on the phone for two and a half hours.

Big Acai owner Lanette Byers told WHO that she doesn't expect to recover the money taken and that she can't even explain how she feels.

I can’t even explain the range of emotions I went through. You feel shock, you feel empathy, you feel anger. You feel everything all at once.

WHO reports that the Valley Junction and Pella locations of Big Acai were the locations hit by the scammers. Authorities have not yet discovered who was responsible for the call. The IRS reminds businesses and individuals that the agency will never call someone to demand payment and never sends messages through email, text, or social media.

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